Torpedo



J. L. BISCH May 30, 1950 TORPEDO 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 13, 1945 INVENTOH JZbmes L Bzlsah J. L. BISCH May 30, 1950 TORPEDO 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 13, 1945 msw L m? J pm? J. L. BlSCH TORPEDO 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 13, 1945 4 uuE ill'or Jcz/me$L.Bi/$ch M; a Jodi 1: a. an;

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TORPEDO Filed Sept. 15, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented May 30, 1950 TORPEDO James L. Bisch, United States Army, Port Royal, Va.

Application September 13, 1945, Serial No. 616,139

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 757) Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates generally to a device for the destruction of enemy mines but more particularly to a snake demolition torpedo comprising an elongated container for explosive cartridges adapted to be pushed by a tank into mine fields or other obstacles to clear a path for advancing armies.

One object of the invention is to provide a mine clearing device which is of simple construction and one which may be assembled from readily available material with very little processing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the class described which may be readily transported to the place of operation and then moved into position for the destruction of mines without danger to the operator.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a mine clearing device which is economical in construction, simple in operation and one composed of parts which may easily be transported to bases of operations.

Objects and advantages other than those above set forth will be apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings in which like parts are indicated by similar reference characters:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the snake demolition torpedo;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the torpedo shown in Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a sectionized elevation of a portion of the torpedo, the section being taken on the longitudinal center line of Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing one method of connecting the overlapping plates;

Figure 6 is a perspective showing another method of connecting the overlapping plates;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified form of longitudinally curved body sections;

Figure 8 is a top plan view showing the for- Ward end of a snake including the nose adapter end nose;

Figure 9 is a side elevation showing the forward end of the snake including the nose adapter and nose illustrated in Fig. 8;

Figure 10 is a side elevation of a modified form of nose;

Figure 11 is an end view of the modified form the snake type torpedo showing the alignment of the cartridges within the parallel channels thereof;

' Figure 15 is a, partially sectionized view, the

section being taken on the line |5I5 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is a sectionized view of a cartridge, the section being taken along a longitudinal center line;

Figure 17 is an end elevation of the cartridge shown in Fig. 16;

Figure 18 is a top plan view of the initiating unit, ShOWing the shield, target button and location of charge therein;

Figure 19 is a sectionized view of the initiating unit, the section being taken on the line l9-I9 of Fig. 18;

Figure 20 is a partially sectionized end elevation of the initiating unit, the section being taken on the line 20-20 of Fig. 19;

Figure 21 is a top plan view of the rear hook and attaching bar;

Figure 22 is a partially sectionized side elevation of the hook and bar shown in Fig. 21, the section being taken on the longitudinal center line;

Figure 23 is an end elevation of the hook shown in Fig. 21, showing its attachment to a section of the torpedo;

Figure 24 is a top plan view of a modified form of torpedo composed of spaced tubular sections;

Figure 25 is a partially sectionized View showing a cross bar coupling member, the section being taken on the line 2525 of Fig. 24;

Figure 26 is a side elevation of a modified form of towing hook, as shown in Fig. 24;

Figure 27 is a side elevation of a modified form of pushing hook, as shown in Fig. 24;

Figure 28 is a perspective view showing a tank connected to the forward end of a torpedo to illustrate the manner of towing the same;

Figure 29 is a perspective view showing a tank connected to the rear portion of a torpedo to illustrate the manner of pushing the same; and

Figure 30 is a top plan view of the towing yoke.

Briefly stated, the snake demolition torpedo comprises an elongated container formed of either longitudinally bent strips of steel or long steel tubes which serve as conveyers for demolition by cables or ropes 8| and 82 which pass over pulley rollers 83 and into a convenient opening in the tank so that the lowering and raising of the towing yoke and pushing cable may be controlled by an operator inside of the tank where he is not exposed to danger.

The towing yoke is composed of arcuate member 84 adapted to engage the towing hook 20. The arcuate member is connected to the tank by a pair of links 85. The cable 8| is connected to the arcuate member 84 by a bail 88 and spring 81.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent 1. A torpedo of the type described comprising an elongated container for explosive charges, said container being composed of upper and lower sections, provided with longitudinally extended corrugations therein and united adjacent their extremities by overlapping portions thereof which are bolted together, said corrugations in said sections providing explosive retaining courses, luminous target means in connection with said container for igniting said charges, and means in connection with the forward and rear portions of said container for attachment to a vehicle for movement of the torpedo to a selected place for operation.

2. A torpedo of the type described comprising an elongated container for explosive charges, said container being composed of a plurality of separable upper and lower sections having overlapping end portions, each section being detachably united to its adjoining section by fastening said overlapping end portions of the adjacent sections to each other, means formed integral with said sections for retaining explosive charges therebetween, luminous target means in connection with said container for igniting said charges, and a forward hook and a rear hook projecting from said container adapted to engage means for towing and pushing said torpedo to a selected place for operation.

3. A torpedo of the type described comprising an elongated container for explosive charges, said container being composed of a plurality of separable upper and lower sections provided with longitudinally extending corrugations therein providing explosive retaining courses, said sections being adapted to partially overlap adjacent sections, and having said head and tail portions provided respectively with upwardly projecting towing and pushing hooks, channel means formed by the corrugations in said sections providing explosive retaining courses, and luminous target means connected with said container and projecting upwardly therefrom for igniting said charges.

4. A torpedo of the type described comprising an elongated container for explosive charges composed of a plurality of separable upper and lower centrally connected overlapping metallic sections, formed of spaced strips provided with longitudinally extending corrugations therein and adapted to retain explosive charges between the channels formed by said corrugations, a head pivotally connected to one end of said container, said head comprising a conical body portion and a hemispherical end portion, a tail portion, a tail ramp connected to said tail portion, a towing hook and a pushing hook connected respectively to a forward and a rear section of said torpedo, and means comprising a target having a centrally located luminous button connected with said container for igniting said explosive charges.

5. A torpedo adapted to be towed and pushed into operative position by a vehicle, said torpedo comprising an elongated casing formed of a plurality of vertically spaced, upper and lower overlapping, longitudinally extending, corrugated metallic strips united centrally to form parallel channels extending throughout the length of the casing for the reception of explosive charges and a ballast, a yoke shaped nose adapter provided with parallel limbs, two of which are adapted to be inserted within the forward ends of said channels and retained thereby, and a third limb projecting forward of said casing, a nose member connected to said forwardly projecting limb and a tail ramp connected to the rear end of the casing, towing and pushing hooks, mounted upon said casing adjacent the forward and rear ends thereof, and target operated ignition means provided with a luminous button and mounted upon the upper surface of said casing for exploding the charges therein.

JAMES L. BISCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 137,916 Hamar Apr. 15, 1873 167,465 Oliver Sept. 7, 1875 196,977 Hinman Nov. 13, 1877 1,863,766 Ross June 21, 1932 2,409,848 Greulich Oct. 22, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 811,059 France Jan. 9, 1937 OTHER REFERENCES Scientific American, Dec. 5, 1914, p. 468. Popular Science, Feb., 1944, p. 119. 

